Don’t Forget to Declutter Your Mind

2022-01-02 ~ adminlife

One of the things you notice when you start decluttering is how so much of the clutter in your house reflects the clutter in your mind. If you’re hanging onto to clothes that don’t fit, or the ugly vase your mother gave you for Christmas or the exercise bike you might get around to using, you don’t just have a problem with too much stuff. You have a problem letting go. Chances are you’re also hanging onto a whole bunch of bad feelings, ill-founded assumptions, old grievances and future worries.

If it feels good to declutter your house, it feels even better to declutter your mind. Here are some useful expert tips to make some space in your mind.

Use some meditation techniques

You don’t have to do the full sitting on a cushion in a darkened room thing to benefit from meditation techniques. If you’re feeling overwound, some simple breathing techniques can help you calm down and focus. For a few minutes, focus only on your breathing and nothing else. If your mind wanders or gets back into the worrying groove, you must put that aside and come back to focus on your breath.

Write it down

It can help to write down anything that’s on your mind. Once all those worries are down on paper, you can prioritize them and work out a plan to deal with them. You can also assess them to identify what’s essential and what isn’t. When you can see what’s important, you can focus your energy and free up some of that mental space!

Stay in the present

Brooding over the past and worrying about the future take up a lot of space in your mind and achieve precisely nothing. Let go of regret over past mistakes or resentment of past slights and move on. Keep your focus on what you can influence right here, right now.

Do one thing at a time

Multitasking is not only overrated (it’s very inefficient), it also leads to greater anxiety, and you never do any one thing properly. Focus on doing things methodically and thoroughly. As you finish one task, move onto the next.

Control all the incoming data

We talk about being available 24/7 and the 24-hour news cycle, but there is only one person who can control that. You. You can choose to switch off your computer, smartphone, and tv and control the amount of data your brain is trying to process.

Decluttering your mind will pay off in all sorts of ways you hadn’t imagined. You will be more productive, less stressed and more motivated.

You can book your 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button belowand we can talk about how we can work together to help you declutter and reduce your stress.

To your success

Michael

P.S. you know that living a life that is in balance is important. When you can balance your work, family, health, relationships, fitness and money, you feel better and can achieve your goals. You have the support of your family and friends which makes life worth living.

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

Photo by Natural Goods Berlin on Unsplash

Feeling Overwhelmed? Take Back Control with this 6-Step Process

2021-05-26 ~ adminlife

Oh, how trying the stresses of life can be! Having situations that affect your peace of mind can be challenging. And sometimes you feel like you’ve gotten way more than you can handle. Yet still, you find a way to keep going.

It’s great when you can find the determination to keep going. But are you doing so to your own detriment? Perhaps the way you’re responding isn’t always the best.

Coping mechanisms help to keep you in the game. But after a while, you may end up crashing. The most beneficial approach involves using well thought-out strategies to keep you in control.

Try this process to respond to an especially challenging situation:

Stop in your tracks. If you feel overwhelmed now, it’s likely to get even worse if you keep going the way you are now! Stop right where you are and accept the situation for what it is.

- Look back at what has happened up until this point in time. Can you identify the reasons behind your downfall? Make a note of them.

Embrace your shortcomings. Do you have shortcomings that prevented you from staying on top of things? Be honest with yourself when trying to identify them. It’s the only way you’ll be able to move on to resolving the situation.

- Whatever you’ve identified as your shortcomings, accept and embrace them. It’s pointless allowing them to bring your mood down. You’re already overwhelmed. The last thing you need to do is put yourself down.

Avoid excuses. Even though you feel overwhelmed, the last thing you want to do is blame it on something or somebody else. Avoid overlooking yourself as the main factor behind your current situation.

- It’s easy in stressful situations to refuse accountability. Just the tension alone is enough to drive your mind in crazy directions. Just accept it for what it is, even if it means coming face to face with your shortcomings.

Open up to others. Share your feelings with someone you can confide in. Simply sharing can often help to ease some of the stress off your shoulders.

- Tell the whole story. Allow the person to understand your highs and lows. Let them see how your strengths got you this far. But also share what you think you could have done differently.

Organize an approach. Now that you’ve offloaded, you’ll have a clearer mind to organize an approach. You’ve stopped at this point for a reason. Now’s your chance to change direction and pull yourself out of this rut.

- Now that you’ve figured out what went wrong, try to tackle those things first. You’ll want to prevent those things from happening again.

Surround yourself with positive people. It’s sometimes difficult to take on challenges on your own. As much as you hate to admit it, there are others better at some things than you are! Embrace them and get the support you need to manage stressful situations.

- Use the strengths of trustworthy people to get you over the hump. Be clear about the role you want them to play. Handing over responsibility can be tough. But be mature enough to understand that it doesn’t take away from your own abilities.

Being in over your head isn’t a death sentence. In fact, it’s a perfect opportunity to be creative in your approach. Once you identify an effective approach, you can expect to handle situations more confidently.

Give yourself the chance to be in control. With positive strategies, you’ll be able to take matters into your own hands and turn them around in no time!

Feeling overwhelmed is not our normal state so you need to have strategies in place to help you overcome this feeling when it occurs.

When you put these strategies in place in your life you will begin to get control over yourself when you feel overwhelmed.

Book a 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button below

and we can start the discussion on how we can work together to defeat your sense of overwhelm and move your life forward.

To your success

Michael

Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

12 Traits of People With Type-A Personalities

2020-10-02 ~ adminlife

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Do you have Type-A personality? Those with a Type-A personality are driven, focused on results, and can’t stand to waste time. These people are challenging to be around, but they also find the rest of us quite frustrating. They’re operating in a different world. These self-motivated people are rarely at peace, but have the ability to get things done and to change the world.

You might have a Type-A personality if:

You live and die by your to-do list. Type-A folks are all about using time efficiently. If you have an endless to do list and refer to it frequently, you might have Type-A personality. How stressful would it be to lose your to-do list? Your answer tells the whole story.
You’re stressed more than most other people you know. Those that are Type-A get a lot done, but they’re stressed. The tremendous emphasis put on efficiency and results would stress anyone. You’re more likely to suffer a mental breakdown or to have a heart attack.
You’re overly conscientious. The need to do everything perfectly is a common characteristic of those with Type-A personality. Imperfections bother you like nails on a chalkboard.
You have superior focus. The tasks you have to complete are so critical to you that it’s easy to keep your focus. Anything else is secondary. You could teach a Buddhist monk a thing or two about focus, and you’ll make a million dollars while you’re doing it.
You don’t procrastinate. You have a million important things to do that can’t possibly wait! While the rest of the world is watching Seinfeld re-runs, you’re taking care of business.
Your career is more important than your relationships. Relationships are okay, but not if they interfere with your career. You believe you’ll have time for a meaningful relationship after you make partner. You’ll probably only be 30 years old anyway.
You love being the focus of attention. All that dedication and work shouldn’t go unnoticed. You thrive on recognition and standing out from the crowd.
It’s challenging for you to relax. With an ambitious schedule and only 168 hours in a week to squeeze in all in, how can you possibly relax? Who can you petition to make a day 27 hours instead of 24?
You struggle to fall asleep at night. If it’s difficult to relax, it’s difficult to sleep. You’re probably lying in bed beating yourself up for only getting 27 of the 30 items on your to-do list completed. However, you could get up and knock them out. It’s only 2 AM.
You do everything quickly and with purpose. Whether you’re walking down the hall, eating lunch, or shopping, you know where you’re going and you’re not going to waste any time getting there.
Incompetent people infuriate you. Why can’t Joe polish his shoes properly? And why does the cashier count so slowly? It’s all quite maddening.
You’re highly successful. If you’re a Type-A personality, you’re probably quite successful. Having a purpose, boundless energy, and the ability to get things done is well-rewarded in Western civilization.

Do you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself? Is your partner lurking in this list? Those with Type-A personality might not have a lot of time to give you, but they don’t require much from you either. They’re too busy! Type-A personalities are a force unto themselves.

To your success

Michael

If you are a Type-A personality here are two books that can help you to learn about the effects of stress on your life and the second on how to say NO to all of the things that you “need” to do.

How Chronic Stress Affects Your Health

The Power Of No – Learn How To Say No And Take Back Your Life

12 Coping Mechanisms for Stress

2020-07-272020-07-27 ~ adminlife

Stress is sneaky and can sometimes grow out of control, sometimes leading to physical symptoms that may include headaches, long-term weight gain, or chronic diseases.

Luckily there are things that you can do to lower your stress levels, helping to keep your cortisol levels manageable.

Try these strategies to cope with your stress:

1. Acknowledge your stress. The first step is to acknowledge that you are stressed. By thinking about the stress in the first instance you can decide if you simply need a break, or if this is a more long-term issue that needs more effort to resolve

2. Chew gum. Research has found that chewing gum is a good way to reduce stress. To experience the benefits of chewing gum, ensure that you’re chewing it vigorously.

3. Inhale essential oils. Essential oils such as lavender or sandalwood have been found to help calm the mind during times of stress and anxiety.

4. Go for a walk. There are a couple of reasons why walking is good for stress. To start, it helps you to escape your current situation, and secondly, any type of exercise will help to release endorphins, which are a type of neurotransmitter that can lighten your mood.

5. Take up yoga. Yoga is a type of exercise that has become popular among those looking for relief from stress, anxiety and depression. When you perform yoga, an effect that’s the opposite to your flight-or-flight response will be produced. This helps to lower your cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate.

6. Practice mindfulness. Rather than focusing on negative thoughts and what if’s, try to anchor yourself in the present and focus on what you can achieve. One method you could try is to sit and meditate while paying attention to your breathing. Let any sounds, sensations, and emotions pass through you.

7. Write away the stress. When you write down what you are stressed about, you can logically think of ways to tackle the issue or circumstance. This will help you to focus more on the positives than the negatives.

8. Talk about your situation in the third person. This method helps you to exert self-control over any negative emotions.

9. Take a hot bath. Taking a bath in hot water helps to release endorphins and increase blood flow to your skin. Stress increases pain, and a hot bath will help alleviate both. If you are suffering from chronic pain, a hot bath can help to keep your muscles loose and reduce flare ups in people with arthritis.

10. Clean your room, desk, or dishes. Cleaning is another way to practice mindfulness. Plus, it is another form of exercise, which helps to release feel-good endorphins.

11. Reach out to your friends. An effective way to reduce stress is by talking to a friend. Sometimes hearing about your troubling issues from someone else’s perspective will help you to look at the challenge differently and find possible solutions.

12. Try foam rolling. Foam rolling will help you to release those built-up knots and ultimately reduce stress.

If you find yourself easily triggered by simple mistakes and lacking in patience, perhaps stress has built up to a level where action needs to be taken.

Chronic stress can lead to an increased risk of developing depression, anxiety, and many serious chronic diseases. Use these methods daily to cope with your stress and soon you’ll find that you have less stress to cope with!

To your success

Michael W

P.S. If you are looking for a confidence program that can help you with your self development. Send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com to request a copy of my “Maximum Confidence Transformation Package”. Afterwards we can arrange a discovery telephone call to discuss the package and how you can benefit further from developing your confidence level.

5 Things You Can Do Today to Handle Daily Pressure

2020-01-122020-01-09 ~ adminlife

Every day you have challenges thrown at you. More often than not, these challenges come with a certain amount of pressure. Some pressure is a good thing as it gives you that push to get things done. But other times, pressure can become uncomfortable, or even unbearable resulting in physical problems such as stress and anxiety. To help keep that kind of tension from ruling your life, read on to find some quick and easy things you can do right now, today, to help you handle daily pressure.

1. Practice ‘box breathing.’ You’ve probably already heard it a million times but taking a deep breath when feeling pressured is a great way to find your center. But did you realize that most of us are doing it all wrong? To truly come down from an anxious situation, try what’s called ‘box breathing’ which is a tactical breathing technique learned by those in law enforcement or the military. Called because boxes have four sides, this technique likewise is based on fours.

Start with taking a deep breath in, drawing air into your lungs for 4 seconds.
Hold the air in your lungs for 4 seconds without breathing out.
Then breath out slowly for 4 seconds
Then stop, holding your lungs empty of air for 4 seconds.

By repeating these steps, you will enter a place of tranquil calm. Useful in meditating, box breathing will restore your calm when you need it most.

2. Force yourself to yawn. By spending 60 seconds forcing yourself to yawn, you will not only reduce pressure, but you’ll come out more energized and alert.

3. Take a walk. Even just getting up and moving around for 5 minutes every hour is enough to have a deep and positive impact on your life. By exercising, you release endorphins that affect mood. It’s hard to feel pressure when you’re up and moving.

4. Learn to say no. A lot of pressure comes from being overextended. Carefully evaluate what you can honestly get done in a day but also realize what you want to get done. It becomes easier to say ‘no’ to those things that just don’t fit.

5. Practice gratitude. Sometimes easing the pressure is as simple as remembering to be thankful for what you do have.

You’ll never escape daily pressure completely, but by being conscious of you how to deal with it, you can reduce it significantly. It is possible to ‘stay calm and carry on.’